BMW 4-series coupe (2013) first official pictures

These are the first official pictures of the new BMW 4-series coupe. The replacement for the existing 3-series coupe, it mixes the shape of the Concept 4-series with toned-down details from the regular F30-gen 3-series saloon. The rear-drive, 2+2-seater coupe will go on UK sale in October 2013, after its in the metal debut at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show this September.

The 4-series is lighter, faster and more frugal across the range than the outgoing 3-series coupe, and it’ll be more expensive too – that’s part of the reason BMW has changed the name, to distance the sexier coupe from its humdrum saloon and estate siblings.

There’s a new front bumper with a less extrovert air intake, and conventional LED lights in place of the concept’s jewel-like clusters. The rear bumper too has been watered down with simple exhaust pipes rather than the concept car’s racecar-like valance. Riding on smaller alloys, the whole car looks less blinged up and tidier, but is it too conservative for a sporting BMW? Tell us your verdict by clicking ‘Add your comment’ below. Don’t forget, you can spec the M Sport pack with sportier wheels and an M4-aping bodykit to pump up the visual aggression.

What’s been preserved is the swooping cab-back glasshouse, side gill motif and elegantly blistered wheelarches. Inside, the 4-series coupe is near-identical to the display model – hardly a surprise, given it’s basically carry-over 3-series, with one seat less in the back. There’s more room in the cabin that the old 3-series coupe, though.

Like the 3-series family, all engines (whether petrol or diesel, four- or six-cylinder) are turbocharged. In line with the 4-series’s posher brief, there’s no lowly 416i, 418i or 418d models: the range kicks off with the 180bhp/280lb ft 420d model. Top of the tree is the 435i, good for 302bhp, or if fast dervs are more your thing there’s a 435d model on the way, developing 465lb ft. Standard on all but the top-spec six-cylinder models is a six-speed manual gearbox; an eight-speed automatic with paddleshifters is the alternative option. There’s also a 428i, with 242bhp and 42.8mpg.

The 435i is the fastest 4-series you can buy at launch: it’ll hit 62mph in 5.1sec and 155mph flat out. The most frugal is the 420d, claimed to be capable of 60mpg.

Prices are expected to start at £32,000; the range-topping 444bhp M4 coupe comes in late 2013, commanding an estimated £55,000 tag.

By Ollie Kew